Trial & Error - Percy Jackson AU
by itsthatfangirlagain
Summary: An AU about two new demigods (one a daughter of Dionysus, the other a daughter of Poseidon) who make friends (and potentially fall in love) with Nico di Angelo and Leo Valdez.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys, I decided to try something new, I hope you like it! :)**

Chapter 1

(Nico's POV)

My eyes flickered open, and I rubbed my red-raw eyes in pain. Pulling myself out of bed, I clambered to my feet unsteadily. I changed into a pair of black jeans, a skull t-shirt, a pair of black shoes and, of course, my sword - just in case. I somehow felt like this day was going to be a bad one...but then again, when is it not?

The hot summer sun prickled my neck and face, my horribly-white skin almost sparkling. I looked around the camp. Ares kids were practicing on the dummies, with satyrs frolicking in the fields behind them. Apollo kids dancing about in the sun, and Demeter kids making daisy-chains. I saw some Iris kids painting the daisies purple and red and pink and yellow and...

I ran into a young satyr, who was holding two terrified-looking girls. One was pale (almost as pale as me) with bright blonde hair. She was just taller than me, and her blue-grey eyes were piercing. She reminded me of Annabeth. She was wearing a white and grey shirt with denim shorts. She kept looking back at the second girl. She was almost the opposite of the first girl. She was shorter than her, and had black (if not very dark brown) hair, and deep brown eyes. Her skin was quite dark compared to the blonde girl, and she seemed a little stunned. The blonde girl looked up at me and our eyes locked.

The satyr cleared his throat, and the blonde girl snapped out of it.

"Mr di Angelo, could you show these girls around please?" The dark haired girl frowned, and the blonde one looked back at me.

"Whatever, yeah," I replied with a sigh. "And call me Nico. I'm not a god." The satyr nodded, and the blonde girl chuckled a little.

"Yes, Mr di Ange-" The satyr paused and cleared his throat. "Nico..." He shuffled awkwardly, then ran towards the fields.

"So," the blonde girl said. Her voice was lower than I thought it would be. "You're name is Nico?"

"Yeah. And yours?"

"Huh?" the blonde girl looked startled, like I'd asked a really personal question.

"Your name." I forced a smile, trying to look friendly.

"Oh. I'm Bellina." I smiled.

"Beautiful," I said. The girl blushed, and I corrected myself. "Y-Your name means beautiful in Italian"

"You can speak Italian?" She muttered as we passed the training fields. The dark haired girl was trailing behind slightly, taking a good look at all the weapons on the side.

"Well, I was born in Italy," I managed to say, desperately trying not to get distracted. "So I know quite a bit." She laughed and turned to her friend, who had picked up a bronze sword.

"What's this made of?" the girl said. "It's so heavy."

"Oh, that's celestial bronze." The girl made a surprised face, swinging the sword at Bellina.

"Woah!" Bellina yelped. "Watch it!"

"That's not a very good idea, y'know," I butted in. It did nothing, because Bellina grabbed a spear and started aimlessly jabbing at the girl. They started having a full-on battle, and nothing I said could stop them. The dark haired girl acted like she was born to hold a sword, and Bellina seemed unsteady but confident. But what shocked me the most wasn't the sword denting a dummy, the spear nearly taking an Athena kid's head off or that these young girls were battle experts. What shocked me the most was, on Bellina's fifth attack, the spear aimed at her friend...but when it missed, a vine shot out of the shaft and wrapped around the girl's neck and head, almost suffocating her.

The girl started sputtering and choking, and Bellina tore the vines off. Tears clouded her vision. The vines rooted into the ground and disappeared.

"How did you...?" The dark-haired girl whimpered. Bellina was in total shock.

"I...I don't know! I just..." She started scrambling about for something, but stopped and looked at me. She pulled her friend up, brushed herself off and smiled.

"Err..." She coughed. "Sorry about that."

"Those vines," I said, pointing at Bellina. Her smile disappeared. "They're unmistakable. They're grape vines." Bellina frowned.

"Why does that matter?"

"Because I know who your godly parent is." I looked her dead in the eye, her friend looking on in shock. "It's Dionysus."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

(Leo's POV)

There was a loud bang at the door, and after checking the time, I realised it was only 10am. Seriously, I need sleep. Who's even up this early? I sulked to the door and pulled it open with a great deal of my might. It was Nico, and it looked like there was someone behind him.

"Hey, Nic." He frowned and rolled his eyes.

"If you call me Nic one more time I'm gonna-"

"Hey, just a joke, death breath." Someone behind him stirred. I raised one eyebrow. "Who you hiding?"

"Huh? Oh, right. These are the new demigods. I need you to help me show them around."

"Did you ask Percy?"

"He's asleep."

"Annabeth?"

"As if I'd ask _her_."

"Hazel?"

"Wrong camp, Leo. Even you know that." I sighed. Guess there was no getting out of it.

"Fine. Introduce me then." Nico stepped aside. Two girls were engaged in conversation, but as Nico moved, they stopped and met my gaze. One was tall, blonde and quite pretty. The other was dark-haired - I couldn't tell if it was black or brown - and she was...quite stunning. Her eyes sparkled. And her hair...

I shook my head, trying to snap myself out of it. They both looked up at me with bright eyes.

"Sure. I'll help," I nodded. Nico smiled slightly, and let the girls introduce themselves.

"Hi." The blonde one mumbled. Her voice wavered, like she was nervous. "I'm Bellina." I smiled and nodded.

"Good to meet you, Bellina." I turned to the dark-haired girl, who was nearly bright red. _Was she embarrassed? _"And you are...?"

"Oh...me?" She asked, almost shaking with what seemed to be fear. "I-I'm Sadie." Bellina giggled at her friend.

"Ooooh, look at you, Sadie! Getting all love-struck, are we?" Sadie hit her friend with such force I winced a little, and Bellina let out a small yelp.

"Shut up!" She squeaked. I soon wiped the smile off my face.

"Why? Too nervous to talk to your boyfriend?" Suddenly, the lake rippled more than before, and the taps inside my cabin rumbled.

"I said. Shut. _UP!_" Almost half of the water from the lake rushed out from its source. The taps behind me erupted, and all the water came rushing towards Bellina. Bellina was completely engulfed by the water, and went soaring into the lake. We all ran over, but Bellina didn't surface.

"No..." Sadie whined in shock. In panic, she pulled all of the water out of the lake and held it above the empty space. Bellina choked and spluttered, but at least she was alive. Nico grabbed her and Sadie let the water fall back into the empty space. Sadie's face was pale and full of shock and awe, whereas Bellina was confused and, in some ways, offended.

"Bellina, I-" Bellina wrapped her arms around Sadie, to which Sadie shifted awkwardly.

"Not a fan of hugs?" I laughed. She shook her head, smiling in response.

"Great," Nico sighed. I looked at him and saw his eyes fixed on Sadie.

"What?"

"Another Poseidon kid."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello! How are you all? Hope you're enjoying the fanfic so far. Leave in the comments who your favourite demigod is - Bellina or Sadie? :) So so so sorry how late this is! School does stuff to you...0.o**

Chapter 3

(Bellina's POV)

Dionysus - the god of wine, emotions and festivals, according to Nico. Not my first choice, I'll tell you now, but...I guess it's better than being the daughter of a lame god.

I think you might need a bit of back story.

Hi. My name is Bellina de la Grande, I am 14 years old...and I am a demigod. I have the same mother as my half-sister Sadie, but I think all my mother's beauty went to her. When I wasn't even 1, our mum cheated on Dionysus with Poseidon, and (regardless to say) she is now a divorced, single mum. Also regardless to say, I have never seen my dad.

Well, I hadn't...until Nico showed me around.

After I got pelted with water by my half-sister, Nico (literally) fished me out of the lake and rushed me to my cabin, which - to my surprise - was already ready. My bags I had left with the satyrs were laid out on the bed. Leo tapped my shoulder as I stared into the colossal temple of a room.

"Your friend needs to go to her cabin," he smirked. "So say your goodbyes for today." I span on my heel and faced Sadie. She was beaming at me, but seemed quite upset. This was the first time we'd been separated in over ten years - we'd spent the whole of our life together. Well...we might as well have.

"Well," she piped. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Then Leo and Sadie turned around and left. I kept watching as she disappeared towards her cabin, and she looked back at me with wide, eager eyes.

She was happy. So I was happy too.

"Bellina," Nico blurted. I jumped in shock, before turning towards him and smiling.

"Oh. Sorry." I looked around the cabin. The walls were coated in vines, and the buildings were real quartz and looked genuine...which I soon realised they probably were. It was so beautiful, and I didn't hesitate to go inside. The walls, just like the outside, were covered in vines and sparkling white. The windows glimmered in the sunlight, and all the children outside seemed so happy to be here. I knew this place was good from the very start.

"First impressions?" Nico murmured. It was hard to hear his hushed voice over the raucous half-bloods behind us.

"It's..." I was so lost for words. "...amazing." Nico looked over at me and chuckled.

"You've seen anything like this before?"

"No, never. I haven't really be-"

Before I could finish my sentence, silence fell in the camp before a loud voice boomed, "OUT OF MY WAY!" I span to face a large crowd of demigods, a centaur (who Leo had told me was called Chiron) and a man who seemed to be rushing towards us. He had a sun hat and a purple flannel shirt on, with beige shorts and sandles. He didn't seem all that different to me until he stopped metres away from me, his hands covering his mouth. I couldn't tell if he was scared, excited or just plain disgusted. I felt my face flushing red, and I felt Nico's hands grip my upper arm. The guy's eyes shone a deep purple. While he stared at me in utter horror, I attempted to work out who the strange man was.

I wasn't given much time, because before I knew it the guy regained his composure and ushered the other demigods to leave. Then he looked at me closely and smiled a devilish grin.

"Well well well..." he growled. His voice was scratchy like gravel, like he'd eaten the Coke can in his hand. "If it isn't little Bellina."

Utterly bewildered, I knitted my brows together. "How do you.." Then it clicked. "Dionysus." I pointed at him. "Dionysus!"

He paused to sip at his drink. "Baffled? I don't blame you."

"Wow, I guess I know where I get my ugliness from." Just as the words escaped my mouth, the vines entangling the cabin slowly started to unravel. My father's eyes were shining so much they almost rippled like water.

"Watch it." His sandpaper voice rang in my ears. His eyes turned to Nico, who was stood directly behind me. His protecting hands gave me a pulse of heat as he tensed, meeting my father's gaze. "Ah. Nick Angel."

Nico groaned softly. "Nico di Angelo, _sir_."

"I wish to speak to my daughter. Alone." I gulped. Nico pulled me closer, as if he were doing the opposite of my father's request. Dionysus raised one eyebrow and chuckled slightly.

"You really want to _tangle _with me?" The word 'tangle' was accompanied by the slight snapping of untangling vines. Puns. Wow.

"Just stop," I muttered under my breath. "Just shut up, please."

The snapping noise stopped, and my father shifted his gaze back to me. Nico loosened his grip slightly as the gaze was released.

"Oh?" Dad muttered.

"Please," I said. "I just...don't feel it's necessary." I had an idea. I used most of my mental strength to shift the vines, just as my dad did. With the last part of my strength, I stuttered, "You're a god. You should know better."

My father seemed to notice the vines. His eyes seemed less vicious, and he raised his hands slowly. Clapping leisurely, he said, "Well...considering you only found out you were a demigod today...that's impressive." I felt like I was going to drop to my knees in a second, so I let the vines rest where they were.

"Huh?"

"Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, kid," he grinned awkwardly. "Have a _great_ time." His sarcasm was so heavy it was hard to take him serious. I span to face Nico, who was frowning.

"Oh yeah," he mumbled. "So that's your dad."

"Why did it have to be him?" He chuckled.

"Join the club."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

(Sadie's POV)

When my half-sister pulled me out of French class to go to a 'camp for half gods', I knew something was about to go down.

My name is Sadie de la Grande, I'm very nearly 14 years old and I am a demigod. My half-sister Bellina's name fits better with our last name, and she often teases me about it. To be honest, I don't give a crap...sorry, I'm rambling.

I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 10. At the time I didn't know what it was, but when I hit secondary school I learnt that it wasn't exactly cakes and rainbows. I always got distracted in class, even if it was a subject I loved. When anyone was talking, I would feel a sudden impulse to speak over them. Now that I'm 13, I'm still learning to control it. I can't stop my mind wandering, but the speech thing seems in control.

Okay. Enough about me.

When I turned around to face the cabin, I caught Leo beaming in the corner of my eye. My feet seemed to thud along the floor. I looked around at all the cabins as Leo named as many as he could. Aphrodite - a horrifyingly pink house with very pretty girls sat just outside, and ridiculously attractive guys sat on the deck. Athena - a beautiful blue and gold house. There didn't seem to be many people around that cabin, but there was a suspicious amount of people reading by the lake. Ares - admittedly the most intimidating looking cabin, its blood red walls and boar's head making it seem like a slaughter house. Demeter - with grass growing on the ceiling and roses beaming in the sun, dotting around the porch...it just looked amazing.

Leo stopped.

"Poseidon cabin. Cabin number 3." My eyes widened. I honestly thought the Demeter cabin looked good until I saw this. The walls sparkled a blue-grey colour, and seashells dotted the cabin like freckles. All of the windows were facing in one direction - towards the sea. The window sills were decorated with the most beautiful sea plants I've ever seen. I couldn't name them, and I was too shocked and lost for words to ask Leo, although I doubted he knew anyway.

I stepped inside. There were bunk beds pushed to the wall, but only one seemed messy. The floor was strewn with clothes, obviously from the other cabin members. Suddenly, a tall boy with jet-black hair and stunning green eyes popped up from behind the fountain in the centre of the cabin.

"Leo," the boy said. God, his voice was like liquid gold. "Who's this? Got yourself a girlfriend?" I shifted awkwardly, and Leo frowned.

"Not funny, Perce." Perce? Weird name.

"So who are you?" I suddenly realised he was talking to me. I froze as I met his gaze. His half-smile was crooked, but still perfect. He _had _to be at least 6ft.

"Oh," I said. My voice shook like I was on a rollercoaster. "I'm Sadie."

"Nice to meet you, Sadie. I'm Percy. Percy Jackson." The name rang a bell. The girl at school who turned out to be a satyr wouldn't shut up about him.

"Aww, lovely sibling bonding time." Percy's smile wiped clean off, as did mine.

"_Sibling?!_" We cried simultaneously. Of course! Why else would he be in the Poseidon cabin?

"Well we do kinda have the same hair..." Percy ran his hand through his chaotic hair, and without thinking I copied him.

"My mum is blonde," I stuttered. "So it must be Poseidon."

"Y-yeah. It must be." Percy chuckled. I heard Leo slowly creep away behind me, but Percy ushered him to stay.

Leo moaned. "Do I have to?"  
"Yes!" Percy and I yelled. Percy stared at me, and I added, "...please..." Leo, slightly creeped out but still beaming his curious smile, sauntered back into the door.  
"So," Percy sighed. "What do you want to know?" My heart was racing and my ADHD started to flare up. I tapped my foot to contain my excitement, while I thought of all the questions I wanted to ask. Can you speak to fish? Is controlling water normal? How long can we hold our breath? Can we swim faster? What's the biggest body of water we can control? Can we control sea animals as well?

I thought for a while, before calmly asking, "Can you speak to dolphins?"

"Do you like dolphins?" YES YES YES, I LOVE THEM!

"Love them."

"Then I have some good news." YAY!

"Awesome." I tried to think of the least creepy question I could before Percy cleared his throat. Outside it was eerily silent. A voice boomed something I couldn't quite hear then all was silent again.

"I saw what you did with the lake." Oh god.

"Really?" OH GOD HE'S GONNA DISOWN ME.

"I was impressed." YES! "Is your friend okay?"

"Err, yeah. She seems to be." Percy chortled.

"She got a bit wet," Leo piped up from next to me. I giggled, but I was still kinda embarrassed about it. I nearly killed my half sister, how am I supposed to joke about that?!

"Ooh! I've got another question!" I cried. "Does my sister have an awesome half-brother too?" Oh wow. Sucking up to him. Well done, Sadie.

"What cabin is she in?"

"Err..." I paused. What was his name?! I ushered him out of the cabin and pointed at cabin furthest away. It had grape vines everywhere, so I knew it was hers.

"That one".

Percy stopped smiling. "Oh. That's Dionysus." He looked at the floor.

"I-is something wrong?" I spoke.

"Hm? Oh, nothing. Just thinking. Err...well she would have two. There were these twins - Castor and Pollux. Awesome fighters. Nice people. But then this massive battle raged, and Castor was killed. Pollux is still pretty damaged about it, and Mr D has his moments." I laughed at Dionysus' nickname, but stopped when I realised that it sounded impolite. Laughing at a person's death wouldn't exactly be the best introduction ever. "So in answer to your question, yes."

I swallowed hard, and waited for the deafening silence to take over. My foot was still tapping against the cold grey-blue floor.

"Sorry if this is awkward," Percy mumbled.

"Awkward? This is amazing! I'm really glad I met you Percy." He beamed.

"I'm glad to hear that. It was lovely to meet you too, Sadie." Percy clicked his fingers in realisation and ran to the fountain. "I've gotta show you something." He opened out his hand and nodded at Leo, who then flicked a golden coin into his hand. The coin glistened and mimicked the pattern of the rippling water. Percy dropped the coin into the water and breathed the words, "Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, please accept my offering." A rainbow appeared, hovering just over the water. Percy quickly whispered, "What's your sister's name?" In a slight panic I spluttered, "Bellina de la Grande," and spat all over his face as I said it. He nodded, repeated her name and watched as the rainbow shook.

The image showed Bellina and Nico sat on her bed, talking about Dionysus and this guy called Bacchus and something about Romans and Roman forms and other things I didn't recognise. Nico looked up into our eyes, and his hand latched onto his sword, before sighing and relaxing again.

"Iris message?" He said. I guessed that was what we were doing.

"Yeah. Just showing Sadie how to do it."

"Yeah, whatever. Just warn me next time. I almost had a heart attack." Bellina met my gaze.

"Sadie?"

"Bell?" Leo looked at me and mouthed, "You call her Bell?"

"How are you doing that?"

"Iris message," Percy chirped. "In case you didn't hear."

Intrigued, I reached out and pushed my hand through the mist. Suddenly the image disappeared, and I was left staring at the wall.

"Well, we gotta race off, Sadie." I whipped my head around to face Leo, who was pointing out the door.

"What? Why?"

"We gotta figure out your weapon. C'mon."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**(Bellina's POV)**

I stood about two feet away from Nico, a range of weapons scattered in a pile to my left. Nico had ushered me to try them all and, in theory, one would suit me better than the others.

I gulped.

I'd already attacked Sadie with a spear and concluded that I wasn't allowed within six feet of another. Nico didn't agree, of course. Therefore, I dug through the pile of lethal weaponry until I came across a single-headed iron spear. It reflected the sun almost twice as brightly as any mirror could dream of, and the craftsmanship was so precise that it looked like it belonged in a museum. It looked hefty and hard to carry, but it was like carrying a long branch...which I guess it was.

But that's not important.

I twirled the spear in my hand before Nico pointed me to a dummy to practice on. In a moment of slight panic, I extended my arm fully, just clipping the dummy's collarbone. White stuffing rolled out of the hole like steam from a kettle. The puncture seemed insignificant at first, but eventually the thread managed to rip all the way down to the dummy's thigh. In a frankly desperate attempt to prove myself I drew the spear back towards my body. Looking back at Nico, I could see a glint of humour in his unhappy eyes. I sighed, and thrusted the spear upwards, where it found a new home in the dummy's chin. Applying all my strength, I pushed it up further, forcing the head clean off. I heard Nico mutter, 'Whoa' in shock, before stepping forward and taking the spear out of my hand.

"We'll, err...label that one as a maybe..."

The next item in the pile was a beautifully crafted oak bow, with arrows made of what looked like bronze and gold. I'd only had one archery lesson before, and I probably won the award for worst aim. I held the bow firmly in my right hand, with a bronze arrow clutched in my left. It clinked against my bracelet and the feathers irritated the hairs on my wrist. Snapping the arrow into place, I extended my first finger to help aim. I pulled the string back with my fore- and middle finger and aimed the glistening tip at a new dummy's stomach.

I held my breath and released my left hand's grip.

The arrow whistled through the air, zooming straight past the dummy and striking the ground about four feet behind it. I threw the other arrows down in frustration, shoving the bow into Nico's hands before resting my hand on a bronze sword. I realised suddenly that this was the sword Sadie had attempted to hit me with. Holding it felt like holding a well-shaped boulder. It was heavy, uncomfortable and too big - so big in fact, that I skipped it completely, knowing full well that someone like me couldn't be trusted with it.

A small silver dagger lay next to a double-headed spear on the emerald field. Using my theory of spears, I decided using the dagger seemed less...deadly.

The dagger had very obviously been used before, and it was very obviously only a practice one that Nico had found. Loose pieces of stuffing clung on for dear life at the tip and around the handle. The edge of the dagger was blunt and yet still rather sharp, like a school dinner knife. I symbolised throwing the dagger to Nico, to silently ask if it was to be thrown, to which he replied with a simple stabbing motion. Nodding to him, I turned again to face a third dummy. After succeeding to stab it multiple times, I found using the dagger frankly tedious, and felt that using it in a stressful situation probably wouldn't end up well. So, I set the dagger aside.

With the only item left being a double-sided spear, I decided to spice things up a bit. I remembered that I could not only_ move_ grape and strawberry vines - I could summon them. I approached the fourth and final dummy, leaving the one designed for the sword untouched. I first thrusted upwards into his stomach, then twisted as I pulled it out, the stuffing rolling out like clouds of smoke. I then turned the spear in my hand, utilising the second head. I slashed backwards and forwards, making sure I applied the same amount of force to each side of the dummy.

When I felt it was sufficiently de-stuffed, I proceeded to finish it off with my big idea.

I clutched the middle of the spear in both hands, squeezing so hard I was scared to break it. I raised it above my head and concentrated all my thoughts into summoning vines down the spear's shaft. Vines...vines...vines...This one little word alone was drowning in a sea of random thoughts, and somehow it surfaced. As I pushed the spear into the ground, I concentrated on forcing every vine I could think of - every plant imaginable - out of the spear.

The ground shook.

As soon as it impacted, the spear let off two jets of luminescent-green vines - one along the floor, one into the sky. The first slithered along the floor like a cobra, and surrounded the dummy's feet, rooting it instantly. The second looped around the dummy's neck, squeezing so hard the seams holding the neck to the head started to rip.

I motioned my hand downwards, as if I were hitting my palm off of a table. The vines lassoed around its neck joined with the second group of vines around its feet. Both came hurtling forwards, causing the dummy to crash onto its face, breaking into a pile of metal shrapnel and fluff.

Silence, and all eyes fell on me.

I heard Nico shuffle behind me. Slowly I turned to face him, a look of slight guilt creeping onto my face. He looked utterly bewildered and shocked by the pantomime I'd just performed in front of him. And yet, at the same time...he looked proud. I then turn a little further to see no other than Sadie and Leo. Both were completely terrified, staring at me as if I were an utter monster.

I dropped the spear, hearing it clatter against the broken dummy.

I then proceeded to bow, nod towards Sadie, Leo and Nico, and leave the scene, holding my head high before sinking into my cabin, proud of my achievement.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**(Sadie's POV)**

The spear Bellina was holding clattered loudly against what was left of the dummy, and I immediately realised what she was capable of.

After a glance and a bow, Bellina was off, swaggering towards her cabin, leaving a trail of vines behind her. I also noticed that, as she ran a hand through her hair, vines plaited themselves into her hair, leaving an almost cage-like helmet. Leo rested his hand on my shoulder, his skin like fire. I span, half shocked, to face him and Nico, who looked just as shocked as I was.

"Leave her," Leo's calming voice said.

"It's going to her head," I interjected. "The power. The...fame, I guess. It's going to her head."

"Shhh..." Leo soothed, his hand moving towards my neck. He draped his arm lazily around my neck and shoulders until his arm was basically a scarf. I was already warm as it is, and his arm was making me feel like I was burning...but it was so comfy I felt guilty to tell him. He guided me towards the sword Bellina had lightly used before picking up the dagger. It had a great weight to it, but I instantly felt more powerful once it was in my hands. Leo's arm snaked back off my shoulders and allowed me more movement. I turned to the unused dummy. I raised the sword above my head and...

"Wait!"

I relaxed, spinning to find Percy sprinting towards me, a sword clutched in his hand. He waved to me as he arrived, and I placed the sword I was holding carefully next to me. He was panting slightly, a bead of sweat clinging onto his hairline. He pushed the sword towards me.

"Here," he breathed. "Chiron told me to give it to you. I was gonna give it you when we were talking but-"

"ADHD," I spluttered. He looked slightly bewildered, but nodded.

"Yeah..." He seemed to get off-track, but remembered what he was saying once he glanced at the sword. He then leaned into me, whispering in my ear.

"It's got a secret to it. If it's anything like mine - which it probably is - it's not just a sword it-"

"Seaweed Brain!"

A blonde girl appeared, and at first glance I thought she was Bellina. She came running over with a slightly annoyed face, and Percy shot back up as soon as he heard her.

"Wise Girl!" He beamed at her, running and falling into an embrace with her. I felt a little awkward watching them, and Leo cleared his throat in an attempt to snap them back into reality. They released each other, and Percy looked back at me with sad eyes.

"I kinda need to go," he mumbled. I looked into the grass, feeling unsatisfied. I was about to interject, stating that he hadn't finish what he was going to say, but when I looked back up he was being dragged away, the blonde-haired girl shooting me a cold look.

Nico coughed.

"Bless you," Leo chirped. I frowned and turned to face him, confused by his interjection.

"What?"

"What?" Leo seemed confused as to why I was baffled by his statement.

"He coughed."

Awkward pause.

"Oh." He chuckled, and Nico rolled his eyes.

"I'm gonna go talk to Bellina. She's more sane than you too put together." A slight sharp pain of disgust hit me.

"Was that supposed to be an in-"

"Sadie," Leo warned. "Joke. It was a joke."

"But he-"

"He has a weird sense of humour." Leo lowered his voice to be sure Nico didn't hear him.

I frowned with confusion, but shrugged it off. I'd have to get used to him eventually. He asked me what I wanted to do, but I wasn't really listening. Funnily enough, I was thinking about all the possibilities - places to go during the day, what to do at night if I can't sleep. There was a campfire, apparently...but I didn't know where it was. There were obviously training grounds, because I was stood in one right at that moment. We were located directly next to the armoury, and I could see the stables in the distance. In the opposite direction was the arena, but we weren't allowed to go there apparently. There were the fields, but there was really anything there. The main thing that happened there was this Capture the Flag thing, which was set to take place tomorrow morning - Leo was gonna wake me up for it. Then there was-

Leo grabbed my shoulder and every thought evaporated. His eyes rippled like flames.

"Are you even listening?"

"Y-yes," I yelped, slightly panicking. He relaxed.

"Good. What did I say?"

"Umm..."

Awkward silence followed as he waited for my answer.

"You weren't listening were you?" I expected him to be angry somehow, but he looked at me with a devious smirk on his face. He sighed, still grinning.

"No. Sorry."

"It's cool. I only asked what you wanted to d-"

"As much," I interrupted. "as we can."

His smirk evolved into a cheeky smile. "Fine by me. Where do you wanna start?"

"Where do you recommend?"

He looked at the sunset. That meant it was about quarter to 6, if I could remember correctly.

"We could just...wander? At least until curfew."

I nodded. He held out his arm, inviting me in to wrap his arm around me. As a person who hates physical contact I would have retched at the thought...but I didn't. I pulled myself into him and he was happy to oblige. I felt an immediate warmth, like someone had lit a fire inside of me. He guided me off away from the armoury and towards the lake. He mentioned something about Thalia's Tree and off we went. I felt...ecstatic to say the least...

...Okay, fine. I like him. Happy?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**(Nico's POV)**

The grass crunched under my feet, and as soon as I struck the door I regretted coming to find her.

She called me into the cabin, and I opened the door to a surprising scene. The inner vines of the cabin were strewn across everything - the bed, the wardrobe, the chairs, everything. Bellina was sat on the bed, a flower crown lazily resting on her head, making a daisy chain out of strawberry blossoms. She looked up at me with a confident grin.

I wanted the shy Bellina back.

"Hey! Nico!" She jumped up from the bed, revealing a long, coat-like daisy chain drooped around her arms. They covered her hands and arms like lace gloves and continued with this pattern straight up to her back, where it ended about halfway down her back.

It was beautiful to say the least.

"What's up?" She asked. I frowned.

"This isn't you."

"You only just met me." She folded her arms. "How would _you _know what I'm like?"

"Because the part of you I've gotten to know _is _you. Otherwise, Sadie would have asked you what was wrong or w-"

"She wouldn't do that."

"How can you be so damn sure?!"

"The real question is, how could _you _be so damn sure?! I've known her my whole life. How long have _you_ known her, smartarse?!" The vines on the bed and around the walls creaked to life. I was in trouble.

"Look, I don't want to start anything."

"Really? Because you're showing the exact opposite."

"Were you just trying to insult me?"

I'd had it with this side of her. I forced the ground beneath me to crack - just enough for it to be unnoticeable.

"I wasn't trying." The vines rushed to her side like minions. "I was succeeding."

I ripped the ground open like opening a coconut. She gasped in shock as the ground of her precious cabin started cracking and breaking like a crushed eggshell.

"That's for me to decide."

Suddenly, the vines shot out and wrapped around the hole, sewing it together like a needle and thread. As the last 'thread' was made, the vine erupted back out the ground like lava from a volcano. The vine snapped itself at the very end of the hole, refusing to let it come undone. The remainder of the vine found its home somewhere in her flower-like mesh that covered the whole of her upper body.

"Are you sure?" She teased.

Plan B.

"Why are you acting like this?" I cried. She seemed to loosen up, her eyes worried and curious as she looked me dead in the eyes.

"Acting like what? Myself?" Her eyes did the most magnificent thing - instead of the stormy blue-grey colour I had come to love, her eyes were becoming purple. It looked as if someone dripped purple food colouring into water. "Well, who do you _want _me to act like?!"

Then it happened.

As I looked her in the eyes, they were no longer just eyes with purple irises. The entirety of her eyes were pure, deep purple - even her pupil. It felt as if the colour was so strong it pierced my brain. Soon, I found I couldn't move my eyes away from hers, as if I was being gripped by an invisible hand, my eyes forced open by its omnipresent fingers. Then a loud screeching sound swam in my ears. It pierced deep in my ears, and I could almost feel it in my brain. I screamed in pain as a clutching feeling entered my head. It felt like a headache, a panic attack and a seizure all at once. Psychologically, I was dying. Physically...I wasn't doing too good either. I found that all I could do was scream. I dropped to the floor with pain, curling into a fetal position like a baby.

"MAKE IT STOP!" I found myself screaming. The noise in my ears became screaming and crying and my vision was turning white. I also found I couldn't blink, so I could feel my eyes slowly drying out. My lungs felt full of lead rather than air and I had no chance of standing.

I must have blacked out, because when I awoke I was on the bed.

Bellina was kneeling beside me, bawling her eyes out. There was a glass of water on the floor next to her and a wet cloth on my head. her hands were clasped around mine.

"Oh God...you're alive..." she whimpered.

"H-how...?" I croaked. There was a slight ringing in my ears and my eyes felt red raw, but apart from that I was fine.

"I'm so sorry..." She began sobbing, and her head collapsed onto her hands. I sighed lightly and used my free hand to begin stroking the back of her head. I ran my hand through her hair, desperately trying to drown out the horrible sound of her crying.

My fatal flaw didn't seem to be kicking in. I just couldn't find a grudge to hold...maybe I wasn't 100% conscious yet.

"Why did you-"

"I don't know," she mumbled into her hands. "I just got really angry and then there was this huge weight-like pressure pushing on my temples and before I knew it you were on the floor, screaming for me to stop and-" she hiccupped, "and I couldn't.

The door burst open.

Pollux gasped when he saw Bellina strewn across the floor, and me collapsed onto his bed. He slowly crept up to us, keeping his eye on Bellina. He'd already met her once, and it didn't go well. Their meeting ended with the phrase, "You will _never_ replace Castor! _NEVER!_" and with Pollux slamming the door behind him. That was when I decided to go find her weapon, actually.

"What did you do?!" Pollux asked, clearly bewildered.

"She..." I looked Bellina in the eyes - a dangerous move following what had happened just moments ago. I had to tell Pollux the truth. "...gave me insanity."

Pollux's eyes widened. Very few children of Dionysus inherited his power to cause and cure insanity of people, and Bellina must have been one of those lucky few. Bellina seemed confused, but looked as though she understood what we were talking about.

"We've gotta tell Chiron, this could-"

"No! We've gotta hide the power. This is incredible...if she goes on a quest, she-"

"Are you insane?!" Pollux screeched so loudly the windows almost shattered. "She can't go on a _quest_! She hardly has the mental capability, never mind the physical capability!"

Silence fell. Bellina sniffled, then slowly rose to her feet.

"Watch it," she warned, her voice surprisingly strong despite the crying she'd done. "If I can drive the son of the God of Death to his knees, I can sure as hell do it to you." Pollux seemed to look worried, bearing in mind he was roughly five years older than her. "Now back off. You're lucky I don't have my spear."

"Okay, calm down Perky. Game's over." I joked. She spun around, flashing me a cold tone before relaxing.

"You're right," she sighed. Pollux had long gone by now, but neither of us had seen him go. She seemed scared to sit anywhere near me, and she looked scared of herself.

"Sip your water, please," she said, pointing at the glass of water on the floor. "I don't want you to dehydrate and pass out again."

This is her. This is the Bellina I know. Shy, kind, helpful...

This is the Bellina I've grown to love.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**(Leo's POV)**

I honestly would have stayed up all night walking around with her if I wasn't so scared that the harpies would end us.

We started off towards the Big House but I had no intentions of entering it. Everyone was either gloomily or happily walking to the mess hall, where the food was very nearly ready. I wasn't hungry and Sadie didn't show any signs of letting go, so we soldiered on. We walked in sync all the way up to the Big House, where I quickened my pace and Sadie seemed to slow.

"Woah," Sadie breathed. "Whose cabin is that?" I couldn't help but smile at this adorably naive comment.

"It's not a cabin, Sadie," I chuckled. "but you don't want to know what's in it..."

She seemed to understand, because she soon nodded and joined me in quickening the pace of her strides.

We passed the surprisingly empty volleyball courts, eyeing up the only four demigods playing. I guessed one was a daughter of Ares, because once she'd hit the ball into the floor she yelled, 'Ha! In your face, mere weakling! My father is on _my _side! Who's gonna defend you, huh? Your mum? Haha! What's _she _gonna do?! Make the ball _pretty_?!" etc. etc.

Now that I think about it, the other girl must've been a daughter of Aphrodite. I can't believe I didn't realise that earlier...

Never mind.

Walking north, we reached the arts and crafts centre. Mostly Athena kids were there, but I spotted multiple Apollo kids desperately trying to make clay suns in an attempt to get at least an eight in cabin checkup. Sadie didn't seem like the happiest when we entered, but once she found the easels she knew what she had to do. We agreed to paint each other, which I wasn't very confident about. But, if Sadie was happy, I was happy.

I chose a normal-looking, gloopy paint that an Athena kid behind me was using. Sadie, being the stereotypical Poseidon kid she is, chose watercolour, with pencil crayons to draw with first of all. I began by painting a thick layer of beige for her skin, but I was scared of being racist, and for some reason felt it necessary to ask her.

"I just..." I started, but her slightly confused silenced me straight away.

"I...wouldn't have thought of that being racist, honestly," she mumbled, her eyes flitting back to her drawing. She had a slight smirk dancing on her lips. "But yeah. That's fine."

I felt a sharp pain of embarrassment hit me directly in the stomach but I dismissed it immediately. I mixed a slight hint of brown into the black paint and brushed the resulting colour onto the canvas to replicate her hair. White, then brown, then black for the eyes. Nose...red mouth...beige neck...blue for the shirt on her shoulders...then I ran out of canvas. I looked back up at her to find she was looking at me, waiting for me to finish.

"Done?" she grinned.

"Yeah," I replied. "I think."

She span her canvas around.

Now, neither of us are artists, that's for sure. But for someone who has never liked or professionally tried any form of art, her painting was very good. The nose may have been a bit off, and my eyes may have been a bit small, but to me it was really good.

"It's really..." she muttered.

"It's awesome," I reassured her. She looked up at me, almost shocked. She blushed before looking back onto her canvas.

"Lemme see yours then."

My heart sunk. It looked nothing like her...the eyes weren't dark enough, the chin was way too big, the shoulders too small...

She took the canvas from my hands and turned it so she could see it for herself. She gasped and my heart skipped a beat. I winced as she let out a breathy sigh before...

Was she sobbing?

Oh, thank Gods. She started laughing as she saw the painting. I felt a little offended at first but it was so much better than her crying.

"It's..." she chortled. "...interesting."

"Rude." I blurted, folding my arms like a stroppy kid.

"Hey, it's pretty good. Honest."

"Sure."

"Don't sulk. Hey, you wanna go somewhere else?" I looked up.

"How about we head back to the cabins?" I suggested. "The forest is directly to its left, we could go there." She nodded and we headed off.

On the way she teased me about my painting, but really I wasn't thinking about that stupid painting. I was a little conscious of the fact that, with my arm around Sadie, spectators seemed to stare and whisper. We passed the lake, the strawberry fields, the stables, the armoury...every place we passed made me more and more worried about how late it was getting. Pretty much every other camper had headed back to their cabin before the harpies arrived...

...But, of course, Sadie didn't know about them, did she?

We reached the forest, and the moon broke through the trees. Sadie sighed contently as she looked up at the moon. She reminded me of how I'd pictured Artemis - young...elegant...and, of course, beautiful.

"Look," Sadie commented, pointing at a climbable tree. "If you grab a rock or something, we could climb up that tree."

"Hah!" I laughed. "Please. We don't need a rock." I sassily pushed her aside, showing her how it's done. I faced away from the tree, my hands on the branch I wished to climb on. I bent my knees and prepared to jump. I transferred my weight to my hands and quickly I was sat on the branch.

"Now you try."

Sadie gulped. She attempted to copy me and my springboard-like tree climbing strategy, but sadly to no avail. I asked her if she needed help and yet she was very convinced she would succeed. I chuckled once she was finally sat on the tree, clutching onto the trunk in utter panic.

"I've changed my mind I wanna get down." She rushed through her sentence so fast it was almost like she was speaking a foreign language. I grinned at her but was concerned by how genuinely mortified she looked. Her free hand seemed to be flailing in front of her. Knowing this could throw off her balance (and, let's face it, I couldn't resist) I grabbed her hand and held it carefully in mine.

"You'll be fine." I stroked her hand with my fingers, just because she was trembling so much. "I'm here, I'll save you."

Sadie looked puzzled. She stopped panicking for at least a second to look at her hand in mine. She noticed how tense she was and immediately relaxed, comfortably wrapping her fingers around my hand. I was surprised how large my hands were compared to hers, but I felt it rude and unnecessary to comment on it. I looked up at her to find she was looking out across the forest. In the moment I couldn't help but reach for her. I turned her head with my free hand, making her face me. She seemed startled, but knew what I was suggesting. She smirked slightly, leaning towards me carefully and slowly. I suddenly got nervous - I'd technically only just met her, what was I doing?! But she seemed to want to too...

A screeching sound echoed through the forest.

We were centimeters away from each other. Literal centimeters. Then they appeared, flying around and around. They circled us like vultures, taunting and mocking us. I suspected they were leaving us time to get down from the tree, but why would blood-thirsty harpies wait for its prey? It's like a lion approaching a deer, preparing to pounce, then saying, "Hey, how about I give you three seconds? I'll close my eyes and you hide!"

_"Dinner for hungry harpies!" _one screeched, its voice like a siren. By now I'd just about thrown myself from the tree, but Sadie was yet to come down.

"Come on!" I yelled, holding my arms out to catch her.

"I..." she whimpered. She started to hyperventilate, digging her nails into the trunk of the tree. "I can't!"

"You can do it! Come on! Do you _want _to be harpy food?!" I yelled, a little too harshly. She held her breath and leapt, completely missing me but landing safely beside me.

"Come on," I shouted, sprinting across the grass. Two of the harpies were directly above us, the other behind. The last swooped next to us, just missing my shirt collar. By now I was actually terrified, and my feet were moving faster than my brain could cope with. I was basically dragging Sadie along by her wrist as we left the forest.

We were on the home stretch, the Poseidon cabin clearly in sight. Without warning, the second harpy swooped us and ripped our arms away from each other. I turned just in time to see the harpy grab hold of Sadie's arm, clutching her with a death grip. She yelped with pain and fear, pulling and scratching at the harpy's claws.

_"HARPY FOOD! HARPY FOOD!" _the harpies chanted heartlessly. Sadie helplessly looked up at me, tears forming in her eyes. I could hear sleepy demigods opening their doors and windows to view the spectacle outside their rooms.

I knew what I had to do.

I used my pyrokinesis to light my hand on fire, which I then simply grabbed the harpy with. Immediately the horrible creature burst into flames, screaming in terror. It let go of Sadie instantly, flying off to attempt to put out the fire. Sadie's arm was bleeding heavily, at least three holes in her arm where the claws had punctured her.

I managed to run back to the Poseidon cabin with Sadie beside me. Knowing that Percy could be strengthened by water, I dragged Sadie to the fountain and pulled her arm under. Slowly, the blood washed away and diluted in the water, the cuts fading away almost straight away.

"I'm so sorry," I muttered.

"You save me," she replied, looking at me with content and safety. Suddenly, she connected her lips to mine, quickly and roughly. I felt shocked, and after realising what was happening I panicked slightly. After releasing me, she softly asked me to go back to my cabin before we both got in trouble. Still a little stunned by the kiss, I stumbled out of the cabin, tripping on my way to my cabin. Collapsing onto the bed, defeated, I thought back on the kiss and smiled like an idiot.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey guys! 'm so sorry I haven't been around lately! I've had a lot of trouble recently and I wanted to sort that out first before writing again. But now, I'm on a break from school anyway so I'll be able to write a bit more :3**

**Oh, and just a warning, this one'll have a few moments of gore and a couple bits of moderate/strong language so if you're squeamish and/or easily offended, read with care. Enjoy! :)**

**(Bellina's POV)**

The harpies screeching above me put me off the thought of sleep even more, and I concluded that there was no use.

I hadn't eaten any food at dinner - not because I wanted to starve myself or I didn't like any of the food...I just didn't want to. I just sat miserably on the end of a rotting wooden bench being held together by vines loosely draped around them, staring around the cafeteria as confused and terrified satyrs offered me grapes and bread and cheese and God-knows-what-else. After most of the people had left I drearily dragged myself into my room, collapsing onto my bed with a light thud. I curled up into a ball, staring at the crack on the floor in embarrassment. Although I had apologised to Nico, I felt like not all was fixed, much like the crack on the floor. I somehow found the energy to change into a loose pair of black fabric lounge shorts, but for some reason had no desire to leave my Camp Half Blood shirt.

After the screeching stopped, I peered out of the window to find Leo stumbling like a drunkard, tripping over his feet as he did so. Rolling my eyes, I sat back onto the bed and looked at the time. Boredom engulfed me, and soon enough I found myself coated head to foot in vines, with every window, door, mirror and frame thoroughly decorated. By that time it was about two in the morning, which came as a shock. I glanced over at Pollux, who was fast asleep in the bed in the far corner, the top bunk empty except for Castor's old Camp Half-Blood shirt that he hardly wore. I was surprised he wanted to be in as much as the same room as me, especially after I was so rude to him earlier. I felt sorry for the guy, if I'm honest. I mean, Pollux loved Castor as much as I love Sadie - and that's a lot. I produced a single strawberry blossom and rested it on Castor's bed. Rest in peace.

I felt myself getting sleepier and sleepier, and soon I was under the covers of my bed, with the vines wrapped around for security and warmth. I tied them up tight before slowly drifting to sleep.

I dreamt about Sadie and our friend the satyr. I dreamt of Sadie's face when I told her we were half-god and her smile when we walked through the gate. I thought of Leo's sunny, cheesy grin and Nico's sexy half-smirk. I felt a warmness when Nico spoke in the dream. I failed to pick out words, but every time he spoke I felt more and more warm and happy. But then I dreamt of my destruction. I dreamt of Sadie's face turning blue and her eyes turning bloodshot as my vines held her neck in a vice-like grip. I pictured Leo's disgusted reaction as I made Sadie jealous, and I dreamt of nearly drowning. I dreamt of Nico turning insane before my very eyes, his screams of terror, as with every word he spoke, making me feel ominously warm and happy.

I felt a smile creep onto my face as Nico's body melted into that of a monster.

Suddenly I was in a field, a spear strapped to my back and three throwing knives hanging from a belt around my waist. What's going on?, I remember thinking. The monster was easily 10 feet tall and incredibly fat, like a Cyclops but worse. I watched it charge towards me, and I scrambled for my throwing knives. Before he reached me, I used my most violent attack - the insanity. The Cyclops, his one giant eye transfixed on me, immediately stopped in his tracks. He began to claw at his face, screaming and twitching in agony. I remember laughing uncontrollably before throwing a knife into his eye. I heard the screams of my friends and sister from behind me, but I couldn't stop laughing as the Cyclops slammed to the ground, blood leaking into his still mouth. I raised my remaining knives. 'So you wanna end up like him?!' I taunted. They cried in response, to which I laughed even further and shouted, 'One at a time, please!' I began to cackle as I aimed a throwing knife directly at Sadie's throat. Before the impact occurred Leo dived in the way, intercepting and receiving the full blow of the knife into his right ear, killing him instantly. I heard Nico scream horrible, vile words of hatred and grief at me, but all I could feel was the warmth. I, without thinking, gripped a large clump of his thick, black hair and pulled, his lips colliding into mine. This beautiful embrace, mixed with my sheer and utter shock from the dream that was happening, was enough to confuse my brain entirely. I drew my last knife, my lips still connected with Nico's.

With Sadie's horrified shrieking behind me and Leo's murdered corpse to my left - still leaking the sticky red liquid that seemed oh so familiar by now - I thrusted the knife deep into Nico's chest. I released his lips to watch him fall hopelessly beside Leo. His last words continued to give me the familiar lasting warmth - 'I trusted you, you bastard.'

At about 8:30 there was a knock on my cabin door.

Pollux had already gone, so I was alone in the cabin. The vines that had once protected me in sleep were now draped across the floor, wilted and ugly. I had to forcibly eject myself out of bed and open the door. I stood there, the sun blinding me and burning the skin under my shorts, as a blond boy stood on the doorstep.

Huh. He's cute.

Must be an Aphrodite kid.

"Hi," he beamed. Every time he spoke, the sun's rays seemed to react to what he was saying. "Nico told me you were new." I gulped.

"Y-yeah," I spluttered. My throat was raw and I only just noticed how much I'd been crying. I wiped my shirt collar against the wet patches dotted on my cheeks and down my neck. "I'm Bellina. Daughter of Dionysus." The blond boy nodded, the smile still plastered on his face.

"I'm Will, son of Apollo." Will's finger extended in the direction of the sun. "God of the sun...and archery...and music...and medicine...and-"

"If you carry on are we gonna be here all day?" I smirk sarcastically. Will's smile was replaced by a straight, confused face. After a few seconds the smile returns as he says, "Sorry."

"Nah, I'm just kidding with you." I looked over at his cabin - number 7, if I remembered correctly. A lot of the Apollo kids were blonde, stereotypical as it may seem, but two really stood out for me. Firstly, there was one boy sat on a deck chair on the porch reading some sort of book. He seemed very infatuated with the part he was reading because whenever he found a part that made him react strongly, he would reach for a notebook and start to sketch. After looking further I noticed that the rest of the cabin members - as well as a few from the other cabins - were crowded around a girl playing the guitar - the other member that stood out. She had dark skin and hair plaited tightly against her head. When she looked up I caught a glimpse of her caramel brown eyes glinting in the light. Her smile was bright white and sparkling.

She was beautiful.

I, being able to play the guitar myself, tried to pick out the chords she was playing, but to no avail. All the cabin members were swaying as she played, her hand and finger movements effortless and flawless. When she was done, a large roar of applause could be heard all the way to my cabin. Will noticed my lack of conversation and followed my eyes to find what I was looking at.

"Oh, that's Hayden. She's been claimed recently too - about three or four months ago. She's...talented" He seemed rather nonchalant in a way that suggested he was jealous of her. I nodded, only half-listening because I noticed three of the cabin members surrounding her. Leo. Sadie. Nico. I felt an urge rush to run towards them and before I knew it I was stood beside Nico, staring intently at Hayden. By now she had retrieved a bag of guitar picks from her pocket and had placed them on her lap. They were labeled in their selective Greek numbers: the white pick had the number ένας (one), the red pick δυο (two), the orange pick τρία (three), the yellow pick τέσσερα (four) and so on. Hayden selected the pink pick - number seven - out of the bag and spun it in her hand. Almost instantly, the pick morphed into a baby pink throwing knife. The unfortunate colour made the knife look rather plastic and fake. Without saying a word, Hayden aimed her 'plastic' knife at the boar's head hanging from above the Ares cabin's door. Almost effortlessly, she released the knife and it whistled through the air, over my head and planted it into the boar's eye. Almost instantly, a mixed-race girl with curly brown hair burst through the door. She groaned loudly, full of rage.

"And _who_," she screeched, fixing her eyes on Hayden. Hayden stood. "...are _you_?!"

"Hayden," the Apollo kid said bluntly. "Are you here to admire my guitar skills as well? Wait in line." A few people mumbled an 'oooooh...' in reply. The other girl squinted and pointed at the 'injured' boar.

"You have maimed our cabin symbol!" Hayden chuckled to herself.

"Oh wow. What a shame. I hope it wasn't hurt." I could almost feel the sarcasm in her voice. A few girls chuckled, but she wasn't done yet. "Oh wait! It's _dead_." She flashed the girl a forced, patronising smile, before adding, "my mistake."

The other girl had had enough. She drew her sword from its sheath and raised it above her head. Amazingly, Hayden moved swiftly and dodged for her guitar. With a slight tap off of the ground, the guitar's wood shifted and bent into that of a bow, with one of the strings becoming the string of the bow. The remaining strings appeared to melt into steel arrows, falling into her hand alongside the bow. She clutched the weapon hard, using it as a means of defense as the Ares girl's sword came crashing down. The horrific sound of metal on metal rung loud as the last of the transformations on the bow - a metal covering over the wood - was complete. Another Apollo kid called Hayden's name, to which Hayden held her hand out and caught the guitar picks the girl had thrown. The other cabin members were cheering them on, nearly everyone rooting for Hayden, including Sadie. Leo, Nico and I watched on in horror and confusion as the girls punched and kicked at each other, as well as aimlessly flailing their weapons in panic. Hayden had attempted to throw her knives at the girl, but the panic had obviously sunk in, as she lost her yellow, purple, orange and green knives somewhere in and around the Artemis cabin. Finally, once she'd had enough of her, she clipped an arrow onto the string and pulled it back, pulling the string to her ear. The Ares kid was easily ten feet away from her and facing the other way, so she was an easy target. Half of the crowd were cheering her on, the other half yelling at her to stop.

Hayden released the arrow and the metal sprouted from the back of the Ares kid's right shoulder.

She screeched in pain, her orange shirt becoming a tie-dye red shirt instead. Overwhelmed with pain, she collapsed to the ground, curling into a ball sobbing. I sprinted over to her without thinking, Sadie calling after me in puzzlement. I fell onto my knees beside her, Will closely following behind me. Pulling the poor girl's head onto my lap, I soothed her and reassured her everything would be okay...before ripping the metal from her shoulder blade. She screamed again, burying her head into my knee. She, ominously, begged for me to let her die, but I reassured her, telling her she'd be alright. Will tore the pre-made hole, making it bigger and more accessible for treating. The blood she was producing ran onto my leg, staining my leg a bright red colour and leaving me looking like the victim myself. Will cleared his throat.

"Hayden," he called. The now baffled and horrified daughter of Apollo rushed over, her face frozen in shock. "We need to heal her. What songs do you know the harmonies for?" I had no idea what they were talking about, but I felt like they knew better than me. Hayden replied with a list of many punk songs that I, admittedly, knew quite well, and I quickly found myself listening to a rather dramatic rendition of 'Drown' by Bring Me the Horizon.

I watched as the skin around the girl's cut started sewing itself together, preventing further blood loss. The girl's frizzy hair was spread across my lap, her head somewhere beneath it. I could see her reddened cheeks and yellow eyes from under her knotted hair and I grinned sadly. I looked up at the children of Apollo, their voices blending and mixing beautifully. I really, honestly, didn't know which one of them I liked more. Will's voice was rich and smooth. He never hit a wrong note, even if the harmony was too high for his voice range, and made his voice vibrate and slide and do incredible things. Hayden's was rich, too. She could sing quite low for a woman, but a lot of the harmonies were high and she had no struggle hitting them. She was...just generally, mesmerizing. I was struck by her, my eyes fixed on her as she serenaded the girl led on my lap...

Hey, don't blame me. I'm bisexual and she's cute. I couldn't resist.

When they had finished I grinned to myself, gently lifting the Ares girl's head up to face me. Her facial expression showed she was tired and scarred, mentally as well as physically. She looked me deep in the eyes, tired and silently pleading to help her. She slowly reached for her sword, which I had led safely quite far away from her. She took the sword in her hand before returning it to its sheath. She also received knives from the sheath, our eyes still locked together. I hesitated slightly as I watched her inch closer to me. Is...is she going to kiss me? I stayed where I was, silently trying to tell her I didn't want to, but she didn't listen. She inched closer and closer until she was merely centimeters away. I kept my hand on her

I only realised she wasn't trying to kiss me when I felt the knife thrust into my arm.


End file.
